A woman becomes dissatisfied with her marriage, as her husband
favors of his research over time with her. An affair leads
her on a journey of self-discovery, and her new dedication
to fighting cholera brings her to the Far East.
Movie Review:

Adultery is never easy to handle. To the adulterer, it's the
realization that the lies and deceit have come to a crashing
halt. The
truth has taken over, and confronting the truth is always
difficult.
To the one being cuckolded, the sense of betrayal probably
is akin to
the feeling of a thousand bricks come crashing down upon you,
as
confusion and loss takes over. There is almost always the
broken
hearts, loss of trust, and that big question on the ability,
or
inability, to forgive.

Based
on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil is a
rather unconventional, complex love story set in 20th century
China,
amidst the backdrop of a cholera epidemic. A marriage of convenience
will subject itself to problems, and Dr Walter Fane (Edward
Norton)
experiences and discovers it the hard way. Totally earnest
in his love
for his wife, Kitty (Naomi Watts), she marries him as a form
of escape
from her parents, and a loveless marriage is a disaster looming
in the
horizon.

The
first half of the movie dwells on the complex relationship
between the married couple, as they grapple with their new
life in China, given Dr Fane's other passion on germ research.
It's a detailed character study of the couple and of English
society at the time, and sets the stage slowly for the impending
hurt to come. The other act combines a sense of adventure
as the focus gets shifted to the plight of villagers facing
the cholera epidemic.

In
certain ways, it's a romantic tale told in reverse gear. In
typical
fashion, you usually have couples falling in love before marriage,
but
here, it's the discovery and development of feelings within
the
confines of matrimony. Guess arranged marriages, or those
out of
convenience are as such, and thus, provided a refreshing breather
of
the genre.

Also,
the political setting of 1925 China proved to be an interesting
backdrop. With the temporal co-existence between the Nationalists
and feuding warlords, it's a clash of customs as Dr Finch,
as a foreigner imparting skills and ideas into combating the
disease, have to battle local traditions and customs, making
worse the anti-foreigner sentiments, in a period of time when
Western powers were in China for their own selfish agendas.

This
month is Edward Norton's month in Singapore, with the release
of
The Painted Veil, as well as The Illusionist, which seemed
to have
been delayed in favour of Christopher Nolan's The Prestige
making its
way here first. His role here as the committed, principled
doctor is
simply flawless. As a determined man with a cause, you'll
believe his
diligence to research and his sense of helping others. On
the other
hand, you pity his need to plough his emotions and channelling
them
all into his work as a means to escape intolerable truth.

Naomi
Watts is luminous in her role as Kitty Fane, the wife seeking
true love, and redemption. She brought out the naiveness of
her role
perfectly, and tries to find a sense of purpose in her life
in the Far
East. Her chemistry with Ed Norton is believable, and you'll
struggle
together with her as she stumbles time and time again seeking
peace
and forgiveness. Fans of Liev Schreiber shouldn't hold their
breaths
for the star's appearance, as it's very limited, and Anthony
Wong has
a rather bland, stoic role as a Chinese colonel.

As
you would have seen in various publicity stills, and even
the poster, there are plenty of bona fide picturesque locations
in China used, bringing forth certain romanticism. The score
recently received a nod for a nomination in the 2007 Golden
Globes, and though beautiful, it seemed to rely more on the
main piano theme at various points to elicit certain mood
from the audience.

It's
a story about the struggles of affairs of the heart, and the
battle against an unseen enemy manifesting itself as a deadly
disease,
which comes with a tad predictable outcome, if not for the
portrayals
by the actors.

Movie Rating:

(The
beauty of picturesque scenes in complete contrast to the ugliness
of betrayal, an unconventional love story set to tug your
heartstrings, with convincing performances by the leads Ed
Norton and
Naomi Watts)